Nesquehonig man facing charges

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

A Nesquehoning man is facing multiple charges, including attempted robbery, following an incident that occurred on Friday, Jan. 25, in the borough.

Police identified the suspect as Salvatore J. Canzonari, 25, of 34 E. Catawissa St. He has been charged with three counts of criminal attempt-robbery, two counts of attempted simple assault, and one count each of theft, and accidents involving damage to unattended vehicle.

According to Officer Timothy Wuttke, who filed the charges, here's what happened.

About 4:47 p.m. Wuttke was handling a traffic accident at the intersection of state routes 209 and 54 when a female arrived and said a male attempted to steal her purse in the parking lot of Redner's Warehouse Market. She said the male was driving a older model Jeep and was wearing a red sweatshirt.

Wuttke said a Jeep matching the description passed the scene and the male driver was wearing a red sweatshirt. Wuttke attempted to stop the vehicle and notified Jim Thorpe police to look for it.

Through the course of the investigation, and with the assistance of Chief Sean Smith, Wuttke was able to identify the suspect vehicle of that belonging to Canzoneri.

Wuttke went to the Canzoneri home where he found the suspect who admitted to driving the suspect Jeep. He said Canzoneri also admitted to striking the guard rail near Redner's and leaving the scene.

Canzoneri was taken into custody and transported back to the scene of the original accident where the officer had told the victim to wait. At the scene the victim of the robbery identified Canzoneri as her assailant.

Canzoneri was taken to the police station for questioning. At the station Wuttke informed Canzoneri that he the officer felt Canzoneri was under the influence of a controlled substance and requested he take a blood test, which the suspect refused.

The victim of the attempted robbery told Wuttke in a statement that she was at the Mauch Chunk Bank branch in Redner's and withdrew a large amount of cash. She had her 16-year-old daughter with her.

Upon exiting the store she walked to her vehicle with items she had purchased in the store and noticed a male sitting in a Jeep next to her car.

She said the male confronted her at the car and attempted to grabbed her purse. A struggle ensued and she managed to secure the purse from the male. During the struggle she sustained multiple scratches on her neck area, which Wuttke noted in his report.

She said after that the male approached her again and apologized to her and demanded she give him a hug and said it was all a joke.

She identified Canzonari and that he was wearing a red "Phillies" sweatshirt. Wuttke noted in his report Canzonari was wearing the same type of sweatshirt when he confronted him at his residence.

Smith assisted Wuttke in probing the reported accident at Redner's. Smith reported he spoke with the victim who had damage to her vehicle which was consistent with damage found on Canzonari's Jeep.

Canzonari at first agreed to speak with the officer but then became uncooperative and said he no longer wanted to speak to police.